Teach Middle East Magazine Sep - Dec 2020 Issue 1 Volume 8 | Page 28

DISCOVER YOUR OUTDOOR
LEARNING ROOM
BY KATHERINE FORSEY
to find things that match the colours
on your cards and pop them in your
tray, they can be natural or manmade
but try not to pick anything living. Try
to identify everything you collect, use
spotter sheets or guide books if you
need to, and record or tally your finds
if you can. When all your trays are full,
group and sort your finds into the most
appropriate coloured tray, collate your
finds to create your own ephemeral
rainbow artwork or combine your data
to produce a graph revealing the most
popular colours in your grounds.
Capture your biodiversity
M
ay
marks
International
School Grounds month and
with Outdoor Classroom
Day celebrated globally
on the 23rd May, there has never
been a better excuse to take learning
outdoors!
Be it an hour, a day, a week or the
entire month spent learning, creating
and discovering outdoors the wide-
ranging benefits of time spent
outside are well researched and
reported (1). Unsurprisingly, you will
see greater benefits if this learning
is continuous and progressive,
with regular opportunities to work
outside incorporated into planning
throughout the year. But don’t worry,
we are not asking you to carve time
out of an already packed school day
to undertake extra-curricular activities
outside, we are talking about using
your grounds to enhance and enrich
your existing teaching and are here to
help you create your very own Outdoor
Learning Room.
This is not just about developing
your student’s knowledge and
understanding or growing their
Science Capital, it is about fostering
wonder, improving mental and physical
health, increasing engagement and
being more inclusive.
Whether you are new to learning
outdoors or already embracing your
wild side, Gratnells Learning Rooms
have put together a collection of
activities to help you get the most
out of your own built and natural
environment this International School
Grounds month.
Collect
Grab lots of different coloured trays
and a few paint swatch cards picked up
from your local hardware store and go
on a colour hunt. Scour the grounds
Be it log pile, pond, tree or hedge
living creatures, knowing who else
is inhabiting your Outdoor Learning
Room provides a great platform for
protecting and improving biodiversity.
Keep your equipment simple, so your
students can easily carry it themselves,
our SmartCases are perfect for use
out and about and can accommodate